Quick-igniting Rockets hold off Howell rally, 35-14

The rout was on for Westland John Glenn's football team Friday night...and then it wasn't.

The Rockets were feeling good and playing better during the early portion of this weekend's clash against visiting Howell as they built up a seemingly indestructible 14-0 lead.

However, a 23-hour severe-weather delay took some of the steam out of the engine for the Rockets, who had to stave off a Saturday-night Highlanders' comeback to secure a 35-14 victory.

The win improved John Glenn's record to 2-0 heading into Friday's 7 p.m. showdown at Livonia Churchill. The Highlanders slipped to 0-2.

The game was stopped with 3:38 left in the second quarter when a nasty storm front rolled through metropolitan Detroit. The game resumed at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Rockets actually extended their cushion to 21-0 Saturday night thanks to an electifying 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jaron Flournoy.

Undanted, Howell scored back-to-back TDs to claw to within 21-14.

"It was like a tale of two games," said John Glenn head coach Tim Hardin. "Obviously, we played a lot better Friday night than we did Saturday night. It's kind of a tough situation to be in when you're rolling and all of a sudden the game is cancelled. I think Howell came back on Saturday with a nothing-to-lose mentality. They came out in empty-backfield sets. We saw alignments we hadn't seen before from them."

John Glenn scored first when Jamie Melchor plowed into the end zone from 1 yard out. Steve Hegenauer's first of five extra points made it 7-0.

The Rockets doubled their lead to 14-0 on the last play before the weather turned ugly when Brendan Wetmore connected with DeAndre Barthwell on a 25-yard scoring strike.

Flournoy's special-teams highlight closed the first-half scoring.

The Highlanders made things interesting in the fourth quarter when they scored back-to-back touchdowns on a 2-yard run by Evan Siemen and a 13-yard pass from Brett Chaperon to Trevor Wetzel.

The Rockets quickly regrouped and countered with a pivotal 78-yard TD pass from Wetmore to Andre Brown.

John Glenn's Le'Jon Crawford put an exclamation point on the victory when he returned an interception 65 yards to paydirt.

Howell pushed the ball into the red zone on its final drive, but Flournoy intercepted a pass in the end zone.

The Highlanders outgained John Glenn in total yards, 294-259.

Melchor had a stellar game, picking up 92 yards on 22 carries. Wetmore was 5-for-8 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Flournoy was Wetmore's top target, catching three balls for 48 yards.

Tyrikh Hunter added an interception for the winners' defense.

"I liked the way our kids persevered and kept fighting," said Hardin. "We were a lot more disciplined than we were in the first game."

The Rockets face a stiff road test on Friday when they travel down Newburgh Rd. to battle unbeaten Livonia Churchill.

Zebras caged

Junior quarterback Joe Bob Walker threw for 226 yards and two long touchdowns, but it wasn't nearly enough to prevent Wayne Memorial from getting rocked by visiting Grand Blanc 56-14 in a game that started Friday night and ended Saturday night.

Grand Blanc led 28-6 when the game was postponed to Saturday by severe weather. The Bobcats led 42-6 at the half.

Walker, who completed 11 of 32 passes, got the Zebras on the board first when he connected with Angelo Wiggins on an 87-yard touchdown strike. Walker and Juan Wise hooked up for a 70-yard bomb in the fourth quarter.

Wayne's ground game was stymied by Grand Blanc as it rushed for just six yards. Bryant Malik led the way with nine yards on four carries.